Now he’s got the fanciest underwear in the world, and a whole bunch of shirts and hats that will save him from sunburn for years to come. He can get college credit for this course. He had no prom tickets to buy, he had no graduation fees. ![]() I don’t even own underwear that costs that much, but here’s my son-with 5 pairs of magic-overpriced (yes, it dries fast) underwear. I did get cranky when the ‘quick dry underwear’ that he needed cost $28.00 a pair. We successfully ordered a ton of stuff from, and the night before our son was to leave, we drove two hours to Salida, Colorado, hoping to land what had to be the last existing water filter in the West-something my son still says was the most useful thing on that list. had been bought up with no replacements in sight. Neoprene shoes? Approach shoes? River shoes? And backpacking boots? Why so many shoes, and what the heck is this stuff, and why is it so expensive? Worse, during the fall of 2020, all of the camping gear in the U.S. Wanted to do something big during the year were students were being told they had to sit at home and do-absolutely nothing outside of Zoom classes. (He was also admittedly out of shape and really worried about being able to complete the rigors of the course.) He knew it would be hard on him, and way outside of his comfort zone, but at this point in 2020, even if the course had to abort half way through (a possibility because of COVID), he wanted to make a change. Our son was not a ‘joiner’ or your typical gung-ho ‘let’s go out into nature and bond’ person before he took his course. We, parents, students, trip leaders/staff from Outward Bound, held our breath and we sent our son, along with the other students, in ‘alone’ to the Leadville, Colorado starting point. They were sometimes uncertain as to the path they would be able to take per course and with their limited staff, but also they remained very steady-always full of hope and light.Īs summer progressed, and college campuses shut down their fall programs, by luck, we were notified that our son’s Outward Bound program was to go forward-with a smaller group, with a pre-quarantine period, a swapped schedule-and if all the participants passed the first group COVID-19 tests (probably ever administered in Colorado)-the course would then, proceed. Yet, through it all, the communication from Outward Bound remained. The waiting, the heartbreak, the missed milestones for our kids, confusion, stress, tragedies for the world-all while such sadness for our young adults set in hard and with no end to it. Until school went remote, and until Outward Bound laid off so many of their staff members it broke our hearts, making us all wonder if this course-if Outward Bound-if the gap year, would survive.Īnd so, began what happened to us all. Like many, we were in denial about COVID-19, until the world shut down, that is. He began paperwork and the interview process for Outward Bound while the pandemic grew. ![]() Together, we tried to approach the university deferral process, and did the deposits for Outward Bound. With much anxiety and excitement on the part of our son, he settled on the fall Southwest Leadership Semester (canyoneering, rafting and backpacking in Utah, with a Wilderness First Aid certificate). Last February, we agreed on a plan, and went full speed ahead for this gap year idea. ![]() What we all got in the end, was the most amazing year of personal growth our son has ever experienced, where much of that growth and hope for the future was because of his time spent on his Outward Bound semester course. What evolved, thanks to COVID 19 cancellations and his application to Outward Bound’s Southwest Leadership Semester, was that we got one semester of what we wanted, and he got the semester he wanted. ![]() Meaning, a semester course like what Outward Bound offered. One that we, as parents who are dedicated to our son’s growth, could support. His first idea was to work and live on his own, and our idea was that he find an accredited gap year program. When our son wanted to do a gap year before beginning university-we were unsure.
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